Lightning Ridge, Australia

The last of the incredible paleontological discoveries that have happened in Australia was in 2015. During operation, miners from Lightning Ridge town accidentally discovered the remains of a rare dinosaur. It was later called the Lightning Claw. This large predator reached 7 meters in length and featured long claws on the forelimbs. The length of the detected claw is 25 cm that completely eliminates its affiliation to any other type of reptile.

Carnivorous dinosaurs inhabited the continent in Cretaceous period, about 110 million years ago. After incredible finds, mine works continued. As a result, dozens of bone fragments were recovered, which allowed to collect the skeleton of a predatory lizard almost completely. That significant discovery shed light on the theory of the origin of Australian dinosaurs. Previously it was assumed that they were the ancestors of dinosaurs from South America and Africa. Remains of the Lightning Claw has allowed to develop a theory that some species of dinosaurs originated directly in the territory of Australia. Next - Patagonia